Thursday 2 September, 2010
Blog: Marotta must be judged fairly
Beppe Marotta hardly set the transfer market alight, but Antonio Labbate calls for understanding when judging the Juventus official
Pick up today’s La Gazzetta dello Sport and Juventus reject Diego will tell you that Beppe Marotta has been unsuccessful in his attempts to rebuild the Old Lady of Italian football. “Marotta decided to sell me because he just wants Italians and that is the wrong road to go down,” he warned. “Juventus have made a mistake with their signings, a lot of good players have arrived but no champions.”
Frustration, bitterness, disappointment, no matter what fuelled the Brazilian’s outburst, there does seem to be a consensus amongst a large part of the Italian footballing media that Marotta has somehow failed. But what exactly has he failed to do? That depends on what was asked of him.
“We needed to achieve three things,” Marotta reveals in an interview with today’s Tuttosport. “Reduce the age of the squad, but with players who have experience at high levels, renew the atmosphere around the club and lower the wage bill.”
While the identity of the players he has signed were never going to win widespread approval, the former Sampdoria official seems to have achieved what he set out to. The average age of those sold was 29.25, whereas the average age of his signings was 25.6.
With 11 new players brought in and 12 gone, many of whom were survivors from the Calciopoli days, there is new air being breathed around Vinovo. And when it comes to salaries, Juve have managed to shift €52m worth of wages for 2010-11, with the new arrivals only set to cost them €29m over the next 12 months.
The reality is that Marotta was not charged with building a title contender because he didn’t have the funds to do so. His acquisition methods over the last few months confirm as much. While true that €56m was spent, it is significant that €40m was recouped, while Alberto Aquilani, Marco Motta, Simone Pepe, Fabio Quagliarella and Leandro Rinaudo were netted on loan with 2011 buy-out clauses that almost total an additional €43m.
With no Champions League funds to spend and no Champions League action to attract the so-called stars who critics are bemoaning the lack of, Marotta’s hands were tied. All he could do was build the foundations of a team for a bright future from a squad that only had a glorious past.
While it’s legitimate to question some of Marotta’s dealings, such as the €12m swoop for Jorge Martinez, the sacrifice of Diego, the late sale of David Trezeguet and the decision to solve the left-back problem with Armand Traore, it would be somewhat harsh and inappropriate to condemn him at this time. After all, he hasn’t just spent €24m on Felipe Melo.
Unfortunately for Marotta, the events of the last seven days have muddied his work. The rejections of Antonio Di Natale, Nicolas Burdisso and Marco Borrielllo, combined with the 1-0 loss at Bari and Milan’s late market swoops, have forced pundits to reassess Juventus’ transfer strategy.
Only the season ahead can accurately judge the work of Marotta though, a man who needs more than 60 days to reconstruct a giant of the European game. A top four finish will be the aim this season and then Marotta may well just be in a position to show us what he is really capable of on the transfer market.
Blog: Marotta must be judged fairly
Beppe Marotta hardly set the transfer market alight, but Antonio Labbate calls for understanding when judging the Juventus official
Pick up today’s La Gazzetta dello Sport and Juventus reject Diego will tell you that Beppe Marotta has been unsuccessful in his attempts to rebuild the Old Lady of Italian football. “Marotta decided to sell me because he just wants Italians and that is the wrong road to go down,” he warned. “Juventus have made a mistake with their signings, a lot of good players have arrived but no champions.”
Frustration, bitterness, disappointment, no matter what fuelled the Brazilian’s outburst, there does seem to be a consensus amongst a large part of the Italian footballing media that Marotta has somehow failed. But what exactly has he failed to do? That depends on what was asked of him.
“We needed to achieve three things,” Marotta reveals in an interview with today’s Tuttosport. “Reduce the age of the squad, but with players who have experience at high levels, renew the atmosphere around the club and lower the wage bill.”
While the identity of the players he has signed were never going to win widespread approval, the former Sampdoria official seems to have achieved what he set out to. The average age of those sold was 29.25, whereas the average age of his signings was 25.6.
With 11 new players brought in and 12 gone, many of whom were survivors from the Calciopoli days, there is new air being breathed around Vinovo. And when it comes to salaries, Juve have managed to shift €52m worth of wages for 2010-11, with the new arrivals only set to cost them €29m over the next 12 months.
The reality is that Marotta was not charged with building a title contender because he didn’t have the funds to do so. His acquisition methods over the last few months confirm as much. While true that €56m was spent, it is significant that €40m was recouped, while Alberto Aquilani, Marco Motta, Simone Pepe, Fabio Quagliarella and Leandro Rinaudo were netted on loan with 2011 buy-out clauses that almost total an additional €43m.
With no Champions League funds to spend and no Champions League action to attract the so-called stars who critics are bemoaning the lack of, Marotta’s hands were tied. All he could do was build the foundations of a team for a bright future from a squad that only had a glorious past.
While it’s legitimate to question some of Marotta’s dealings, such as the €12m swoop for Jorge Martinez, the sacrifice of Diego, the late sale of David Trezeguet and the decision to solve the left-back problem with Armand Traore, it would be somewhat harsh and inappropriate to condemn him at this time. After all, he hasn’t just spent €24m on Felipe Melo.
Unfortunately for Marotta, the events of the last seven days have muddied his work. The rejections of Antonio Di Natale, Nicolas Burdisso and Marco Borrielllo, combined with the 1-0 loss at Bari and Milan’s late market swoops, have forced pundits to reassess Juventus’ transfer strategy.
Only the season ahead can accurately judge the work of Marotta though, a man who needs more than 60 days to reconstruct a giant of the European game. A top four finish will be the aim this season and then Marotta may well just be in a position to show us what he is really capable of on the transfer market.
